Police in Vietnam’s southern An Giang province have smashed a bogus network that tricked people into booking hotel rooms on fraudulent online platforms.
Multiple platforms impersonated five-star hotels and resorts on Phu Quoc, luring customers into paying deposits for room bookings that did not exist.
The sophisticated scam was set up to mimic legitimate businesses, fooling customers into paying deposits that were never recovered.
Local media reported the after receiving payments, the suspects cut off contact and allegedly appropriated the money.
Police traced more than VND6 trillion (US$230 million) in transactions across 229 bank accounts and have so far identified 60 victims linked to the scam.
Police have made several arrests and say their investigations are ongoing.